Every year, it seems like it takes so long to get to WrestleMania and then once the event actually rolls around, it’s like time just flies by. This year was no different. Many of us watched wrestling exclusively for about a week and a lot happened in that short amount of time. We here at Pro Wrestling Journal thought it would be nice to decompress and reflect on this past week as we get ready to launch into a new wrestling season.
The Good
Takeover: New York was phenomenal, as we knew it would be. NXT consistently puts on a high caliber of show that really highlights its stars. My personal favorite match was Pete Dunne vs Walter for the United Kingdom Championship. There’s also going to be a rematch and I’m looking forward to that as well.
We learned that is in fact possible to have a WrestleMania with no crazy swerves. All three big babyfaces won their matches and walked out as champions. I know a lot of fans, myself included, were nervous that there would be some sort of crazy ending with at least one of the matches (well, there was but we’ll get to that later). Roman Reigns had a triumphant return to the ring after battling leukemia for a number of weeks. Kurt Angle gave us an emotional farewell after his retirement match. Overall, WestleMania was a great show, even if it ran a little long.
On the main roster shows following Mania, we saw Becky Lynch with both of her titles as well as Kofi Kingston with his new WWE Championship. Big E can apparently do a full split, which is quite impressive. Dean Ambrose made his final address after Raw went off the air and it gave me so many Shield feels. He will be missed, but I wish him the best of luck in whatever he decides to pursue next. Sami Zayn returned and Lacey Evans actually did something other than a catwalk up and down the ramp. We also saw the Hardys crowned as the new Smackdown Tag Team Champions as they defeated the Usos in a highly anticipated match.
NXT started to push ahead, setting up for new feuds. Candice LeRae has made her intention to become champion known. Velveteen Dream goaded Buddy Murphy into a match. And the Street Profits have a new attitude.
The Bad
I think there might be some cracks starting to form in the Undisputed Era. I wonder who’s going to be the one that breaks the group up.
WrestleMania did run a little long and I think the order of the matches made certain bouts suffer more than others. The Triple H and Batista match, while gloriously brutal, seemed to go on forever and the crowd was exhausted.
As mentioned before, Dean Ambrose gave a farewell speech after Raw went off the air. However, his last on-air appearance was him getting decimated by Bobby Lashley right in front of his wife. AJ Styles may have a minor hip injury and Big E has a torn meniscus so we shall see what happens with them in the interim.
The Ugly
The ending to the historic women’s WrestleMania main event was botched. Ronda Rousey’s shoulders are up and it’s clearly visible in the videos. Rousey also broke her hand during the bout.
Lars Sullivan finally made his debut. The Freak has been MIA for weeks since the initial teasing of his main roster debut due to anxiety and possibly other mental health issues. As someone with mental health issues, I am glad that he’s gotten the help he needs. However, he got almost no fan response on either main roster show and that doesn’t bode well for future success if he doesn’t figure out how to fix it.
Lacey Evans attacked Becky Lynch on both shows though I’m not sure if she’s going to be in an actual feud with Lynch yet. It’s kind of wild that she went from strutting around at events and shows to attacking the woman with both top belts.
There was a promo with an ugly naked bird puppet. It had Bray Wyatt’s laugh so it’s safe to say that Wyatt is now a puppet. If they’re going to make him a puppet, I hope he’s at least creepy and manipulative and this doesn’t turn out to be some weird hocus pocus nonsense, like the Sister Abigail debacle.
Going Forward
Braun Strowman won the battle royal and also fought off Samoa Joe and his Coquina Clutch. He’s in fantastic shape and his elbow and knees seem to have healed up. I think we could be getting ready to see a hard reset on Braun Strowman’s character. In recent weeks, he’s slipped into more of a comedic role but perhaps we could see him return to the title picture.
There was only call-up from NXT as well, which is good considering several of the recent ones have been lost in the shuffle and the Superstar Shakeup is next week. The Shakeup is also intriguing because what exactly will it mean? We’ve been seeing superstars on opposite brands for weeks now. Will the Shakeup force the superstars back to being exclusive? Will the midcard titles swap brands again? How will the Shakeup affect Becky Lynch as the holder of both Raw and Smackdown’s women’s titles? There’s a whole lot of questions since the lines between brands have become so blurred.
